ERTE extension proposed until January 31st, but not under same conditions

The Government made a proposal yesterday (Tuesday) to the employers’ representatives and the unions to extend the ERTE until the end of January 2022, but this time the extension will not be general, instead each individual company will be analysed accordingly within 10 days of their request.

It is expected that there will be a large number of applications because there are still more than a quarter of a million people in ERTE, so two possibilities have been discussed: a ‘positive response’ or a ‘negative silence’ system of acceptance or rejection.

In other words, in the event that the Government does not respond, the request for ERTE's would be considered to be rejected and, in the second case, it would be accepted. However, the first option has generated a lot of rejection around the negotiating table from several of the participants.

The UGT union claimed yesterday that: “All ERTE situations regulated in the previous Royal Decrees are extended until January 31st in general. It will not occur automatically but companies must expressly request it before October 10th, including the application for unemployment benefits to workers, so this proposal is not possible.”

On the other hand, the Government says in its proposal that in order to qualify for the exemptions, companies must offer training to their workers. This announcement is in line with the words of the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, José Luis Escrivá, who last week indicated that the new ERTE should be aimed towards training rather than a straight reactivation of those people who are still in ERTE.

“Some of them will have to readjust their activities within the company or sector. This quality training effort aimed at improving their skills has to be an additional and central element in the new scheme. This is the main objective”, Escrivá had said. The intention of the Government is that this new extension, which will be for four months instead of three as usual, serves as a bridge towards the new training ERTEs that will be launched in 2022 with European funds.

“It does not constitute an extension of the ERTE but a new mechanism, which theoretically aims to help companies but which, among other things, links the exemptions to a training whose current system has been shown to be ineffective. So we will continue working on it”, said the union representative of the CEOE.

"These training actions must be carried out between October 1st and June 30th 2022. However, this modification has raised doubts about their application, execution and financing," added the UGT.

Social Security exemptions:
In yesterday’s proposal, the Government wants to unify the Social Security exemptions for ERTEs due to impediments by 100% but reduces them for ERTEs due to limitations. In this case, the exemptions go from 75% (as they were in September with the previous Royal Decree agreed in May) to 50% for companies with less than 50 employees; and 65% to 40% for larger companies.

With the data provided by Social Security in the middle of this month, currently 253,000 workers are temporarily suspended from activity, of which 79,000 are in partial suspension. The rest, some 177,000 have not worked a single hour. Of the total number of people who are still in this situation, about 91,000 are in ERTE modalities that do not entail Social Security exemptions.

The Government hopes to finalise an agreement by tomorrow (Thursday) so that the extension can be approved next Tuesday in the last Council of Ministers prior to the expiration of the current extension on September 30^th.